Singapore’s GIC invests over $1.4 billion in Vietnamese firms

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte has made huge investments in large Vietnamese firms such as real estate developer VinHomes JSC, in-flight, airline company Vietjet Aviation JSC, lender Techcombank and investment holding company Masan Group Corporation.

Earlier this month, the fund spent nearly $100 million to acquire some 24.5 million shares in Masan to bring its total number of shares to 75.7 million, a 6.5 percent stake in the company.

GIC played a part in Vietnam’s largest equity offerings, all of which were completed in the past year. It invested about $1.3 billion in Vinhomes JSC ahead of its May initial public offering (IPO). The fund was a cornerstone buyer in the $922 million IPO of Techcombank.

The fund was also an important investor in mall operator Vincom Retail JSC’s 2017 listing and emerged as a substantial shareholder in VietJet before the budget airline’s stock market debut earlier last year. GIC now holds 5.74 percent of VinHomes shares and 4.97 percent of Vietjet.